EN18 Carbon Neutral Program Emissions

* The fiscal 2011 target has been restated from 0.0260 million tonnes CO₂e to 0.0270 million tonnes CO₂e, as a result of the BC Hydro/BCTC integration.

Under the Carbon Neutral Government Regulation of the B.C. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, BC Hydro achieved carbon neutrality for calendar year 2010 by accurately measuring our greenhouse gas emissions, aggressively reducing emissions from operations and offsetting our remaining emissions using high-quality and verifiable offsets from the Pacific Carbon Trust.

The scope of the carbon neutral program includes emissions from the vehicle fleet; heating, cooling and lighting buildings; and paper consumption. The fiscal 2011 Carbon Neutral Program Emissions were 0.0295 million tonnes CO₂e, which is nine per cent higher than the 0.0270 million tonne CO₂e Plan. This result is attributable to higher than anticipated levels of vehicle fuel use and building energy use, as well as improvements in data capture to include more sources identified since the targets were set. Targets set for BC Hydro's F2011/12 - F2013/14 Service Plan [PDF, 2.0 MB] reflect data capture improvements.

In the compliance period of calendar year 2010, BC Hydro emitted 29,763 tonnes (0.0298 million tonnes) of CO₂e from sources covered under the Regulation. Of these emissions, 75 per cent come from the vehicle fleet, 24 per cent from buildings and one per cent from paper use. BC Hydro purchased 30,000 tonnes of carbon offsets from the Pacific Carbon Trust to achieve carbon neutrality for calendar year 2010.